Filipino Food Glossary: Filipino Dishes Explained
A Filipino food glossary from adobo to torta: what each dish is, and whether you can get it at Barrios in Halifax on the regular menu, as a party tray or at Sunday brunch.
Barrios Restaurant & Bar
11/8/20265 min read
Filipino Food Glossary: The Dishes at Barrios, Explained
New to Filipino food, or looking at our menu and wondering what the Filipino food names mean? This glossary from Barrios Kitchen & Bar, the Filipino restaurant at 1571 Barrington Street in Halifax, explains the dishes you will find with us and when you can get each one.
Some dishes are on the regular menu, Tuesday to Saturday. Some are party trays. Some appear at Sunday brunch, which rotates, so nothing there is guaranteed on a given Sunday.
Filipino dishes A to K
Adobo
Meat, usually chicken or pork, simmered in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves and black pepper. Often called the unofficial national dish. At Barrios: part of the Sunday brunch rotation.
Afritada
Chicken or pork stewed in tomato sauce with potatoes, carrots and bell peppers. At Barrios: part of the Sunday brunch rotation.
Arroz caldo
Rice porridge cooked with chicken, ginger and garlic. At Barrios: one of the soups that rotates at Sunday brunch.
Bagoong
A salty fermented paste, usually made from tiny shrimp (bagoong alamang) and sometimes from fish. At Barrios: served on the side with kare-kare, so you season each bite yourself.
Banana ketchup
A sweet, tangy ketchup made from bananas, sugar, vinegar and spices, coloured red. At Barrios: served with the torta.
Bangsilog
Bangus (milkfish), sinangag (garlic fried rice) and itlog (egg). At Barrios: on the regular menu, pan-fried milkfish with a sunny side egg and pickled daikon and carrots, $17.
Barbecue skewers
Filipino pork barbecue: marinated pork on skewers, basted and grilled until sweet and smoky. At Barrios: three skewers for $15, gluten free, and as a party tray.
Batchoy and bulalo
Batchoy is a noodle soup from Iloilo; bulalo is a beef shank and bone marrow soup. At Barrios: may appear at Sunday brunch as the chef's choice, never guaranteed.
Beef tapa
Thin-sliced beef marinated in soy sauce and spices, then pan-fried. With garlic rice and egg it is called tapsilog. At Barrios: on the regular menu with garlic rice and two eggs, $18.
Calamansi
A small Philippine citrus, somewhere between a lime and a mandarin. At Barrios: the beef tapa is marinated with calamansi or lemon juice.
Caldereta
A stew in a rich tomato-based sauce, often made with beef or goat, from the Spanish word for a cooking pot. At Barrios: slow-braised beef brisket with roasted carrots, baby potatoes and green beans, with steamed rice, $24.
Chicken inasal
Chicken marinated in citrus, garlic and spices, then grilled. At Barrios: with garlic rice, a soy vinegar dip and pickled daikon and carrots, $22. Pork free.
Crispy pata
Pork hocks simmered with spices until tender, then deep-fried until the skin is crisp. At Barrios: with a homemade soy vinegar dip, $27. Add steamed rice for $2.50.
Gambas
Shrimp sautéed in olive oil with garlic and chilies, from the Spanish gambas al ajillo. At Barrios: listed as Gambas Ala Jillo, $17.
Halo-halo
Halo-halo means mix-mix: a cold dessert of shaved ice, milk and sweet toppings that you stir together before eating. At Barrios: an occasional special, only if the chef has it on.
Kamayan
A feast laid out on banana leaves and eaten with your hands. At Barrios: available on request for private in-house catered events, with one to two weeks' notice. Call or message us to ask.
Kare-kare
A stew in a thick, mild peanut sauce, traditionally made with oxtail. At Barrios: made with crispy pork belly, bok choy, eggplant and green beans, with steamed rice and bagoong, $22. It contains peanut, which cannot be left out, and the bagoong is shrimp.
Filipino dishes L to P
Leche flan
A rich caramel custard made with egg yolks and milk. At Barrios: an occasional special, only if the chef has it on.
Lechon belly
Rolled, seasoned pork belly roasted until the skin crackles. At Barrios: a party tray, from 5 lb (about 12 people) for $75, and often at our special holiday brunches. We do not sell a whole roast pig.
Lechon kawali
Pork belly simmered and then deep-fried. At Barrios: slow-simmered with spices and fried until the skin shatters, with steamed rice, $19.
Longganisa
Filipino pork sausage, either sweet or garlicky. At Barrios: every week at Sunday brunch, and in the dining room depending on availability. Ours is sweet and garlicky in one sausage.
Lugaw and champorado
Lugaw is plain rice porridge; champorado is a sweet chocolate rice porridge. At Barrios: among the soups and porridges that rotate at Sunday brunch.
Lumpia
Filipino spring rolls. Lumpiang shanghai are the fried pork rolls; lumpiang sariwa are fresh rolls. At Barrios: our spring rolls, four for $9, are the lumpiang shanghai. Lumpiang sariwa is a party tray only, and it comes with a peanut sauce on the side.
Menudo
Pork and liver stewed in tomato sauce with potatoes and carrots. Not the same as the Mexican soup. At Barrios: part of the Sunday brunch rotation.
Mushroom salpicao
Salpicao is a quick garlicky sauté with Worcestershire sauce, usually made with beef. At Barrios: made with mushrooms, $17.
Palabok
Rice noodles in a rich sauce, topped with egg and crunchy toppings. At Barrios: made with a shrimp stock sauce and topped with boiled egg, shrimp and crispy pork belly, $20. It cannot be made shellfish-free.
Pancit
Filipino noodles. At Barrios: pancit bihon (thin rice vermicelli) and pancit guisado (vermicelli and chow mein noodles), $17 each, with grilled chicken, crispy pork belly or shrimp. Pancit malabon is a party tray only.
Pandesal
Soft, slightly sweet bread rolls, the everyday Filipino breakfast bread. At Barrios: every week at Sunday brunch.
Pinakbet
Mixed vegetables cooked down together, a dish from the Ilocos region. At Barrios: mashed squash, stir-fried beans and okra, fried eggplant and crispy tofu, made without bagoong or fish sauce, $14. Vegetarian and vegan-friendly.
Filipino dishes S to T
Sago gulaman
A sweet drink with tapioca pearls and jelly. At Barrios: at Sunday brunch, and on request for in-house catering.
Sinigang
A sour soup, most often soured with tamarind, with pork or fish and vegetables. At Barrios: part of the Sunday brunch rotation.
Siomai
Steamed dumplings, a Filipino favourite with Chinese roots. At Barrios: every week at Sunday brunch, and as a party tray.
Sisig
Chopped pork served sizzling, originally from Pampanga. At Barrios: chopped roasted pork with soy sauce and chili on a cast iron plate, with a raw egg on top to mix through while it sizzles, then a squeeze of lemon, with steamed rice, $20. Gluten free.
Sisig tacos
Our crossover: crispy chopped roasted pork with soy sauce and chili in a soft taco shell. At Barrios: $7 each, and $5 on Taco Tuesday.
Tocino
Sweet cured pork, fried until caramelised. At Barrios: every week at Sunday brunch, and in the dining room depending on availability.
Torta
A Filipino omelette. At Barrios: our torta is tortang talong, grilled eggplant in beaten egg, pan-fried, with pico de gallo, crispy onions and banana ketchup, $12. Vegetarian.
Prices shown are from our current menu and may change.
Quick answers
What is the national dish of the Philippines?
There is no official one, but adobo is the usual answer. At Barrios, adobo is part of the Sunday brunch rotation.
What Filipino dish should I try first?
Chicken inasal, pancit bihon or pork sisig are good first dishes.
What is the difference between lechon belly and lechon kawali?
Lechon belly is rolled and roasted; lechon kawali is simmered and then deep-fried. At Barrios, lechon kawali is on the menu and lechon belly is a party tray.
Is halo-halo on the menu at Barrios?
Not regularly. It is an occasional special, only when the chef has it on.
Visit Barrios
We are at 1571 Barrington Street, open Tuesday to Saturday from 11:30 AM. We close at 9 PM Tuesday to Thursday and 11 PM on Friday and Saturday. Sunday is Filipino brunch from 10:30 AM to 4 PM, and we are closed on Mondays. Book a table or call 902-444-2515. The full menu is online.